Beet thinner



' the groundthattheytend to PATENT OFFICE u aacazf y i l Gattiii-,b A. schiel and Gottlieb?. Beren, Denver, Colo.,l assgnorsi 'o'f onethird ftoj` MartinA E..

" i Application July 1,

1943;.seria1Ne. 493,152

This inventonrelatestoimprovements in thin-y ners for row crops and has referencemore particularly izo-an apparatus forthinning such row.

crops as sugar beets-carrots, turnipsvandvmanvsels. Y l vf Throughout this country, and many" foreign countries, large acreages y'of .sugar beets: are

. planted every'yearforvthe production -of sugar.

Under the present method of planting;l theiseeds which normally contain a ,large number fof^-seed germs, are iirst broken so that each particle .conL

tainsonly a single gerrmj .Such seeds -areplanted Y quite close in a. row and when theyhaveg'erf minated, therow willi-constitute aline of roots v positioned in close gproxirnityl-f to each other:y

Since lsugar beets 1 and Y other roots grow .quite large, they naturally require considerable Space and it is therefore necessary" tofthinV theyrpots, leavingl preferably single,y roots at .-,spacedqinterf vals.. The methody c'ommonlyhemployed for thinployment of a hoe of the proper widthlby means of which thelaborer, by a movementofthe hoe transversely of. the. row, vlremoves vpall fthe 'roots' corresponding tothe width ofthe ho`eb1ade;y and expert thinners areable .to control. their,4 strokes with such accuracy as to leavel `onef'orV atfthe most two,roots between thezspace's.v

This method'ofjthinning beets Iis comparatively slow and withthe scarcity of labor which prevails at present, many .elds lmust, be planted into vso othercrops because sufcient labor5 `is not available for manual thinning'.

AIt isthe.l object o f; this invention to, produce simple machine 'that' can b'ejw'moved y 'along the rows at thenorm'al speed of*r vtractor travel, and

n which will shear all of the roots incertain spacesf the. 1516s two; roots between,

A further object of this invention listo"produce"` amachine for the'purpose specified, which shall not require power for vrotating"the operative ele ments, except that provided vbythe traction apparams Whether, drawn by a, team or la tractor.` u 'A `Another object isto produce -af'rnachinefor thel l purpose speciiiedwhich shall` be so constructed that the'shearing vdisks bear such 'a relation to l penetrate thesuitable. 'depth limiting means.

Another object of this invention is to-Qproduce"al and *Soldi at.. a ,.Compsraliivelrf o machine of such construction that lloya simple change,the distance between the plants .left

standing can be alteredtosuit the ideas of the l operator. l Y

l, A'ffurtherfobject is t0 rprofili@ 3:1'001? 'thinner' having means for'effecting a separation ofthe parts so `as to prevent breakage case some y hardr element v'becomes .positioned between the f bladesthereof. f Y

Theabove and other objects that may lbecome apparent as this descriptionproceeds .are attained by means ofa Iconstruction andv anarrangement of parts that will now'be described in detail, and for this purpose reference willr be had to the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated and inwhch:

Figure 1 is a rear looking in the direction ofgarrow'l in Figure 2; ,i Figure 2 is atop plan view looking through planey 2p-2,.in Figure lf;y y A "Figure 3 is `a. fragmentaryr sectiontaken ona line corresponding to line 3-,3, in-Figure 2 andy shows a` yielding .connection between one of the disks'and itslshaft for preventing breakage; y

-in its preferred form,

Figure .4;is'a view'ofthe framelooking in the directionof arrows 4-,-4, in Figure2; and f;

Figure/5 is a diagrammatic-viewshowing the; machine'attached. to the cultivator. .-5 In the'drawing reference numeral l0 designates the surface `of thev ground andv H1 a beetplant of which large numbers areupositionedfinrows Ithem'anner,indicated in Figure 5. L The machine.

consistsof` a frame 'membergll'which may be ofy i castiron or steel and'which'has'beenshownaa slightly arcuate. 'Ihis frame member may, how-4 ever, be straight, if desired.- Ateach endof the frame member are elongatedv openings l3`y and adjacent vthe middle pointthereofiisalug I4.; 1A'

bolt `lli.

bar |5'is attachedvtovl the lugxlliv bymeans ofvv a The surfaces between the 'lug' andthe bar'may beserrated as indicated.,` in Figure 4to, securely hold theframe and A"'thf'yb'ar in adjusted7L position. By means of this bar the machine can be secured to the 'toolvholdingbeam-"I 1 vrof a culti vator like that shown' inV Figure 5. t' Two bearings I8 are provided 'on one side with bolts I9 that vpass through ,ther openings I3. Nutst'20`serve to.v n L hold, the bearingsin position'ontheframe; `Between the Vframe and the bearings, spacers 2l having serrated engaging Vsurfaces :may Vbe lposi-vv tionedV The axes of the bearings are preferably coplanar and downwardly aringand in thereinbodiment illustrated they'- areinclined with ree, Spect to eachl other at an angle. oflfjdegree's.'A

elevation-ofV the machine are held in place by means of nuts 26'.

, relative thereto.

which will be referred to hereinafter as the.

These are held in position by means of nuts 24 and are, 'of

tapering ends, are miter gears 23.

course, splined to the shaft so as to rotate in unison therewith. In the present embodiment.'

the two gears are of the same size and thereforel constrain the shafts to rotate at the same speed in opposite directions. This 1 to 1 ratiois not absolutely necessary, but is believed to be the most desirable. For reasons that will be obvious, the shaftsmay be rotated at a speed of 1 to 2, or any other desired ratio and the machine still 'effect the function desired. Secured to the lower or flaring ends of the shafts are disks 25 which Suitable washers 21 maybe interposed between the nuts and the-disks. The disks employed are of the v kind usually employed with rotary cultivators or with the common agricultural disks. In the present embodiment the disks are, of course, secur-ed to the shaft so that they cannot rotate The disks differ from the ordi nary disks principally in this, that each disk is provided with a number of peripheral notches 28.- Where the two disks rotate at the same speed, these notches are spaced the same angular distance and the disks are so adjusted' with respect to their shafts that the notches will'have the saine 'relative positionswith respect to a plane containing the axes of rotation.

In the further description, it will be assumed that the shafts rotate at the same speed and that their angular relation is 45 degrees. It will also be further assumed that the bar I extends in the direction of the bisector of the angle between the axes of the shafts. The diameter of the disks is selected so that the distance between the adjacent notches is equal to the space that is to be thinned and the width of the notches is such as to permit -only a single plant to enter or under exceptional conditions two plants. If the disks are so adjusted on their shafts that two opposing notches will be oppositely positioned when passing through the plane containing the axes of rotation, a space having an area of the combined area of the two notches will be formed in which no shearing of plants will occur. The size of the disks is so selected with respect to their angular relationl and the corresponding proportions of the machine that the edges will be in very close contact when passing through the axial plane. It is also possible toslightly offset the disks so that they may overlap slightly at the bottom, thereby assuring a true shearing action. However, the preferable arrangement appears to be one in which the edges of the disks are in the same plane at their points of nearest approach. Theangular relation of the shafts determines the 'inclination at .which the disks enter. the surface of the ground and as above pointed out, may be selected so as to get the most desirable operation. Since the disks are so adjusted that they will tend to travel a short distance below the `surface of the ground, the friction between the ground and the disks will be sumcient to produce the necessary rotation and it is therefore merely necessary to draw this apparatus along a line of rootsand to so position the disks with-respect to the roots that the will be cut or sheared, whereas any root so po- 'sitioned that it will come into the space of the notches will remain uncut. The cut roots will quickly wilt, whereas the uncut roots will, of

course,` continue to grow and produce the desired crop. It is preferable to have the notches of `considerable radial depth so as to prevent injury in case the machine is slightly out of line with thev `line of roots. '-Theoretically, it might be possible to effect thinning with a. single blade instead of with two, but such a machine would require extremely fine adjustment, for it is obvious that, if it moved slightly away, it would not shear any rootsA and would therefore be useless. By employing two disks; if the machine becomes displaced to either side, at least one of the disks will be effective to produce the desired thinning.

InFigure, the machine has been shown as securedfto the tool beam by means of a clevis 30 in the manner infwhich many agricultural implements are heldin position. This expedient is merely for the purpose of illustration, as it is the intention to employ any one of the standardk and well known means for securing a ground working tool in position.

Where more` than one "row is thinned at a time, the machines are attached to the cultivatorin such spacedl relation as to conform to the distance between the rows. If a four-row seeder has been employed, it .is possible to thin all fourA rows at the same ltime -by using four separatemachines properly spaced.

In the drawing 4grease lcups 3| have been shown to indicate lmeans for the. purpose of lubrication. However, some ofr the standard pressure lubricating means is contemplated inv which case the ordinary nipples used in .connection with such lubricating means are employed instead of the conventional 4grease cups. y

Beet fields are, as a rule, very carefully cultivated and seldomcontain any rocks or other foreign matter. However, it may be that at times some hard elements, `such as a stick of wood, or a stone, or other article may be soV positioned as to lcome between the disks during the thinning operation. If the.disks areso fixed to the ma-v chine as to prevent relative ,.separation, the article thusvcaught maybe dragged along and either break the disks or destroy a large number of plants. It is contemplated thatv the machine shall be provided with some spring means that will permitthe disks to separate slightly when subjected to excessive pressure and in Fig ure 3, one simple vform has been illustrated. In Vthis form a spring 32 is positioned between the disk andthe'nut 426 and this permits the disk to yield sumciently to prevent breakage. specifically different constructionsmay be substituted for the one illustrated in Figure 3, the latter has been shown more or less diagrammat- Other.

ically for the',

. purpose of disclosingf measifi. .this purpose.:

Although'it is believedthat anedual rotation ofthe two shafts is preferable, a 2 to 1 ratio ,can

beemployednn which case the shaftfturnmg et' the fastest speed will be provided 4with a Idisk having half as many notches. Such a construction would have several objectionable features,

and ralthough it might be employed in an einergency, it is not considered to be practical. Applicants, however, consider such a modification to be Within the scope of their invention.`

Particular attention is called to the fact that with this machineI the roots or plants are severed below the hearts and below the surface of n the ground and it is therefore necessary to have some means for limiting the depth at whichvthe l* Cultivators like that illustrated' disks penetrate. in Figure 5, are provided with levers 33 `that are f connected with the beams I1 by chains or other which disks may penetrate; handles which colfor rotation about downwardly flaring axes, the concavesideof the'disks facing upwar'dlyjthe peripherial edgesof the disks being in shearing relation, means comprising bevel gears for pro?v ducing'simultaneous rotation of the disks in opposite directions, the disks having complementaryjperipherial] notches equiangularly' spaced andfarranged to vregister to 'form' openings,7V and means for positioning the disks with respectI` to vthe ground so that their lowermost peripherial lportions penetrate the ground suiciently to efy2() tension elements 34' which limit the depth `to operate with quadrants 35 and constitute meansn for adjusting the depth. Whenthe thinning de vice is attachede to a cultivator, the latter will limit the depth to which the blades penetrate in the manner above described. The I machine, however, has been so constructed that it canA be attached toany implement and if this is not` provided with means for limiting the depth, gauge bars 36 can be secured to the frame member l2 in the manner shown in the drawing. The frame fect rotation of the disks when moved forward- 'ly,'the plane containing the axes of rotation being upwardly and forwardly inclined. to produce a force kurging thedisks downwardly to the depth determined by the ground positioning means. f

. `2. A machine for thinning sugar beets and the like by severing some of theroots below the heart,

comprising a horizontally extending frame, twoy bearings carried by the frame, one near each end,

the axes of the bearings being downwardly andr outwardly inclined, means foradjusting the an,- gular relation of the bearings with respect to the frame, means for latching the bearings in adjusted position, a shaft journalled in each, bearing, means for interconnecting the shafts for rota- 'Y tion in opposite directions, said means comprising "bevel gears secured to the shafts above the bearmay be provided with tubular lugs 31 `through which the vertical portions of the gauge bars may pass and after'the adjustment has been effected, the gauge bars are secured ink position by means of set screws 38. the gauge bars terminate in rearwardly extend-k ing runners 39 that slide on the ground adjacent the beets and are so arranged as to be slightlyy forwardly flaring. 'I'he gauge bars have' been shown as positioned between the disks as they will then tend to hold the strip of ground in position and prevent it from being broken up unduly by the rotating disks. 'I'he gauge bars may, however, bepositioned on the outside of At their lower ends y ings, and shearing disks carried by the lower ends of the shafts and rotatable therewith, the peripherial edges of the disks having spaced notches, the peripherial edgs of they disks being positioned inshearing relation at their lowermost points.`

like bysevering some of the roots vbelow the heart, comprising a horizontally extending frame,

l two bearings carried by the frame, one near each angular relation of thebearings with respect to the frame, said means comprising a pivotal connection between the bearings and the frame, means for latching the bearings in adjusted position, a shaft journalled in each bearing, means the disks by making suitable changes in the construction. o

The suck or the force withwhich the disks tend to yenter the ground is determined by the angular relation between a plane containing the axes of the shafts and the-vertical. containing plane is therefor upwardly and forwardly inclinedas shown in Figure 5.

. Since the depth can be regulated by either'of rthe two means above described, and perhaps by many others that are speciiically different, those shown and described are intended merelytovdisclose means, in a broad way and applicants desire protection for this element, regardless of its specific embodiment.

The spherical concavity o'f the disks may vary The axes end, the axes of the bearings being downwardly flaring, means for Aindependently adjusting the.

for interconnecting the shafts for equiangular rotation in oppositedirections, said meanscomprising bevel gears secured to the shafts, and shearing disks carried by the lower ends of the shafts and rotatable therewith, the peripherial edgesof the disks having notches in equiangularly spaced relation, the peripherial edges of the disks being positionedv in shearing relation at their lowermost points.

4.- A machine for thinning sugar like by severing some of the roots below the heart, comprising a frame, a bearing at each from fiat to such curvature as may be found desirable. In some instances flat disks are preferable to spherical ones because such disks more readily penetrate the ground and have practically no tendency to disturb the earth. The

runners 33 of the depth gauges can, in many cases, be positioned outside of the disks as indicated by the dotted lines 39 in Figure l.

Having described the invention what is claimed.

as new is:

1. A machine for thinning sugar beets and the.;

likeby severing some of the roots below the heart, comprising two concavo-convex disks mounted end of theframe, shaftsr mountedrin the bearings, the shafts being downwardly flaring, means for interconnecting the shafts to secure simultaneous rotation ,in opposite directions, said means comprising bevel gears secured to theupper ends of the shafts, means for adjusting the ipherial portions of the'disks whereby the latter may penetrate the ground suiiiciently to cause' them to rotate as the machine is advanced, and

3. A. machine for thinning sugar beets and the` beets and the means for supporting the machine so'thai; the plane containing the axes of the shafts will be upwardly and forwardly inclined with respect to the direction of movement whereby the disks will penetrate the ground to the depth permitted 5 tially parallel with the frame, and means for `clamping the bar in Vadjusted position.

6. A device in Vaccordance with claim 2 in which a depth adjusting means is provided, said means i comprising a member in engagement with the ground and operatively connected with the frame.

GOT'ILIEB A. SCHIEL. GOTTLIEB P. BEREN. 

